


XALT-28

by Sapphire_Tornado



Category: Gravity Falls, Rick and Morty
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dimension Travel, F/F, F/M, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-04-22 19:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4846730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphire_Tornado/pseuds/Sapphire_Tornado
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beth has always been more like her father than she'd like to admit and this time she's really proved it. Given the opportunity to leave her family and her marriage Beth she decided to take it, landing herself in another reality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first rewritten chapter of this story, not too much has changed but I do want to let that information be known. More information about this rewrite on my Tumblr.

“Ah, home at last.” Jerry said, in anti-depressant induced happiness as he pushed open the door to the house. “Aren’t you guys glad to be home?” 

No one else said anything as they walked into their too quiet house. Jerry continued to happily babble in the doorway, oblivious to the fact that his family was headed in different directions. 

Summer ran up the stairs, her eyes glazed over with unshed tears. Her footsteps thundering as she went and her bedroom door slamming were the only sounds she could muster. 

Morty walked into the living room, a dead look in his eyes. He sat on the couch in front of the television and stared at the blank screen as if it held the answers to whatever questions were running through his head. 

Beth watched as both her children went in separate directions, both clearly upset by the loss of their grandfather. She found that didn’t care what her children were feeling. She barely cared what she was feeling. She just didn’t care. Everything was numb. She walked past Morty and straight into the kitchen, grabbing the first bottle of open alcohol she could find. She pulled off the top and took three huge swallows. Tequila. She shook her head at the taste, but took another two gulps anyway.

He was gone. He had left her again. She had driven him away again. She would always drive him away. She would never be good enough. He would never stay. Beth was pulled from these dark thoughts by the sound of glass breaking. She had dropped the tequila bottle, and damn if the sound of glass breaking wasn’t super satisfying. Beth wanted to break more as her numbness melted into anger.

She turned her attention to the closed door at the back of the kitchen. Her father’s lab, her garage, she could break things in there. Beth stepped over the broken glass and tequila on the ground, following the siren call of the destruction she so desired. She opened the door to the garage, almost hoping to hear her father telling her that he was busy and he’d be out in a bit. But that never came. She felt the anger pooling in her stomach grow.

Beth stepped into the garage. Her anger briefly replaced with surprise that it appeared untouched. She thought that the creatures from the wedding would have searched the house and seized everything belonging to her father, but they hadn’t. Her shock bled into curiosity as she looked at her father’s improvised lab. It was organized chaos. The beginnings of three different projects were left abandoned to one side, one still whirring softly. There were piles of papers with scribbled ideas and rudimentary blueprints shoved to one corner. 

Beth shifted through the blueprints, discovering many were travel devices. Her anger returned tenfold, he always needed to have an out didn’t he. She tore paper after paper leaving a tiny pile at her feet. When she ran out of paper she started throwing test tubes and beakers against the floor, ignoring the broken glass that leapt up at her, shallowly cutting her legs and feet.

Beth reached out to grab one of the unfinished projects when something flashing caught her eye. It had been buried under papers and hidden behind the glassware, but Beth could now clearly see it. It was unfinished but Beth knew what it was, a portal gun. She reached out and gingerly touched the unfinished machine, which blinked at an almost hypnotic pace. She picked it up slowly, as if it was the most fragile thing in existence and in a way it was.

Beth examined the handheld machine, turning the dials, enraptured by this little piece of machinery. This was how her father escaped from his boring life. This was a ticket to anywhere. It was an escape. Beth had always wondered what it would be like to escape with any of her father’s inventions but this one was her favorite to fantasize about. She pointed the unfinished gun at the wall, imaging all the places she could go, what her life would be like if she could travel like her father. 

“I’m not like that.” She whispered as if she was trying to convince herself. Beth shook her head and placed the portal gun on the desk, intending to go deal with her anger in a more alcoholic way but something on the bottom of the portal gun caught her eye. It was an engraving.

Beth picked the gun back up, looking at the bottom of the handle. “For Morty.” She whispered, reading the engraving out loud. Of course it was for Morty, who else would it have been for. Her father had never loved her the way he loved her son. Anger once again bubbled in the pit of her stomach as she looked at the engraving. With a primal scream she threw it to the ground, watching in satisfaction as the portal gun broke into tiny pieces.

Her satisfaction was short lived as she realized that a portal had opened under the shattered gun. Beth held her breath. There it was, her escape, the way out she had just convinced herself she didn’t want. But did she really not want it or was she just afraid. Her father had left, was he braver or more cowardly than she was because she didn’t think she could leave. 

Beth knew she needed to decide quickly if she would step through that portal or not. She thought about her family, what she would no longer have to deal with. She wouldn’t have to deal with her idiot husband that she wasn’t even sure she loved. She wouldn’t have to put up with the teenage drama of the daughter she’d had too young. She wouldn’t have to deal with her idiot son failing classes left and right, leaving her worried for his future. In that moment the bad was outweighing the good. Maybe she should just leave.

The portal started closing and Beth realized that her window of opportunity was shrinking. She took one last look around and jumped into the shrinking portal, holding her blue dress down at her sides. The portal closed just as the Galactic Forces burst into the garage.

“I told you we should have gotten back before the family!” The gromflomite second-in-command yelled at his commander.

“I didn’t think there was another portal gun!” The commander yelled. 

“The higher-ups aren’t gonna be happy.” The second-in-command muttered.

“Oh shut up!” The commander snarled at his subordinate. He motioned to the gromflomites behind his second-in-command. “You wait here with them. I’ll go interrogate the family. See what they know. See who’s missing.”

\-----

Dipper and Mabel Pines laughed as they ran. The sixteen-year-old twins hid behind a tree, peeking out to watch for their cousin.

“Mabel! Dipper! This isn’t fair!” 

The twins tried to suppress their laughter. 

“What’s wrong Gids?” Dipper called teasingly.

“Can’t keep up?” Mabel added.

“You two suck!” Gideon called to his cousins. “This isn’t funny.”

Dipper and Mabel popped out from behind the tree, trying to scare Gideon. He barely even flinched.

“That doesn’t scare me. You two know that.” Gideon said, smirking at their matching pouts.

“Why?” Mabel whined.

“Psychic, remember?” Gideon waved his hands around his head.

The three of them burst out laughing. Their laughter was interrupted by a portal opening over their heads. Gideon pulled his frozen cousins out of the way as Beth fell ungraceful onto the ground, a sickening snap coming from her left leg. 

Dipper and Gideon cringed, trying to assess the situation.

Mabel bent down by Beth’s head.“Grunkle Rick! Another Beth came out of a portal!” She yelled over her shoulder. “And she’s hurt!” She went to reach out and comfort the woman but stopped short, unsure how her comfort would be received.

Beth barely noticed the commotion going on around her. Everything hurt and there was a darkness creeping up around her mind. She decided maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to give in to the darkness for a little while and with that thought she slipped into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again not very different but slightly changed.

Beth sighed softly as she came back to consciousness, not yet opening her eyes, too comfortable in her bed. She should have known it was all a rage and tequila-induced dream. She’d never have the balls to leave her husband, but maybe it was better that way. The classical music across the room started to lull her back to sleep, it was considerate of Jerry to leave it on.

Beth started. It wasn’t like Jerry to be considerate or to listen to classical music; he was too into pop. She sat up looking around her unfamiliar surroundings. It hadn’t been a dream after all.

Beth realized she was in a large, underground lab on a cot in the corner. The lab was organized chaos, much like her father’s. There were two metal tables holding numerous unfinished experiments. A desk situated in the far corner was stacked high with blueprints and papers. Next to the desk was a door, opening into what looked like a glassed in testing area. Against the wall closest to her were cabinets upon cabinets of which Beth could only imagine the contents. And against the wall opposite her was a piano being played by another version of her father.

“I didn’t know you played.” Beth said, catching the alternate version’s attention.

Rick turned to face her, stunning Beth. He looked so much younger than the version of her father she knew. He looked like he was nearing sixty, which was closer to his actual age. He wasn’t stick thin either. He actually looked like he was a healthy weight. His hair was still as wild as ever but it wasn’t a sickly blue-gray, instead it was a natural gray still sprinkle with some natural brownish-blonde. 

“Yep, since I was young.” Rick said, smiling at Beth in a genuine way she hadn’t seen since she was a little girl. “Pianist fingers.” He wiggled his fingers.

“I didn’t know.” 

Rick laughed good-naturedly, something Beth had never heard before. “I’m gonna take a wild guess that you’re from a C-numerical dimension. I tend to be much more closed off in those ones.”

“I… I have no idea.” Beth said, still in shock at seeing her father as such a different person.

“Have you heard of the Council of Ricks?”

“Yeah, they came to my house once. They wanted my son and father.” Beth said as if she was just remembering the experience.

“Definitely a C-numerical.” Rick stood up walking over to the bed. “They’re the only ones allowed in the Council or to have issues with the Council.” He said, grabbing a small black bag off a table as he passed.

“Are you not part of the Council?” Beth asked, eyeing the black bag.

“No, I’m an XALT dimension. XALT-28, to be precise.” Rick pulled a small device that looked like a cellphone out of the bag. He poked at it for a moment until it chirped.

Beth, who had been thinking, jumped at the chirp. “Wait a second, what’s that? And if you really are my father why aren’t you stuttering? Why is your hair that color? What’s really going on here? Where am I really?!”

Rick smiled at Beth, as genuine as earlier. “This,” He held up the cellphone like device, “Is to check how you’re healing. You broke your leg, gave yourself a concussion and badly bruised your tailbone falling through that portal. Not to mention the cuts all along your legs or the alcohol in your system. But I digress, I did give you a little something to heal all that though.”

Beth moved the blanket, looking at her legs. Her legs were fine but her already ruined dress now had bloodstains on it. “Thanks.” Beth mumbled.

Rick nodded. “As for why I don’t stutter and why my hair is its natural color, that’s a little more subjective. But let me guess your father drinks a lot and does drugs, including alien drugs. Am I right?” Beth nodded. “That’s the trend among C-numericals, anything to numb the pain of living. And some of these alien drugs have side effects, including stuttering and hair changing color. Exalts don’t seem to be in quite as much pain.”

“Exalts?”

“XALT, we call ourselves the exalt dimensions.” Rick said. “We don’t need those numbing agents. Have some of us used them, yes but not to the same extent. And like I said your Rick has probably just brought permanent side effects upon himself through the use of these drugs.”

“So I’m really in another dimension and you really are my father?” Beth asked as Rick waved the health monitor over her.

“Exactly.” The machine chirped as Rick pressed the buttons. “And it looks like you have a full bill of health Bethy.” Beth looked up in confusion at the nickname. “Sorry, I should have asked what you prefer to be called. We hardly ever get Beths coming through.”

“Beth’s fine.” Beth said, still processing that this version of her father remembered her childhood nickname while her father would forget the word human.

“So you wanna tell me why you’re here?” Rick asked, putting the health monitor away and opening one of the cabinets. 

“Not really.” Beth muttered, looking at her feet.

“Can I take a guess then?” Rick asked, pulling a pair of women’s jeans, a sweater, and other clothing items out of the cabinet.

“Feel free.”

“You married a Jerry.” Beth made to say something but Rick cut her off, holding up a hand. “You married a Jerry because you got pregnant very young. Your father, your me, wasn’t around and you did stupid shit to get back at him and your mother. You have so desperately tried not to make the same relationship mistakes you watched your parents make, only fall into their old habits. But you’ve always been more like me or your Rick. That about right?”

“It’s suffocating.” Beth said, holding her head. “I gave up on so many of my dreams. He reminds me of everything I hate about myself but I still love him. At the same time, I don’t. He annoys the crap out of me. He’s an idiot, who can’t get a job and so obsessive about the dumbest things. But he’s also loyal and sweet, kind of like a puppy. I hate that don’t know how to feel about Jerry.” Beth ignored the tears rolling down her cheeks. “I want to just feel one way or the other. I want to know how I feel.” 

Rick handed her the clothing he’d pulled out. Beth wiped at her eyes, taking them. “But you did miss one thing.” Beth mumbled, pulling the clothes to her chest.

“What’s that?” Rick asked, genuinely curious.

“My dad got arrest by the Galactic Federation. He left me again.” Beth said.

“I’m so sorry. I know that must be so hard on you.” Rick said, wiping her tears away. “Do you want to stay here for a little while? Decipher your emotions. Work through your father leaving again. Take some time to let yourself be happy. Because it seems like you can’t let yourself be happy.”

“I always fuck it up.” Beth said, rubbing her face.

“But so did your father.” Rick stood up, walking over to one of the desks and looking for something. “Maybe you can learn something here about happiness.”

“What’s so special about here?” Beth asked, walking over to Rick.

“I didn’t let go of my happiness. I kept it.” Rick handed her a photograph.

Beth looked at the image in her hand. It was fairly old; the Beth in the image was only about eight. The little Beth wasn’t the only person in the picture; there were two men behind her. One she could easily identify as her father and the other she was unfamiliar with. The unfamiliar man was kissing her father’s cheek and holding the little Beth’s hand.

“Who’s he?” Beth asked, nodding to the brunette.

“That’s my husband and my Beth’s other father, Stanley Pines.” Rick said, smiling at the image. “Now why don’t you go change; that dress is filthy.” 

Beth barely heard what he said, staring down at the image in shock.


	3. Chapter 3

“Beth, you all set?” Rick called from outside the lab’s bathroom.

“Almost!” Beth yelled back, pulling the blue sweater over her head. The photo was still weighing on her mind. She couldn’t seem to dress at a normal pace; her thoughts kept getting tangled up on that picture.

“When you’re done would you like to go meet my family?” Rick called through the door.

“Yes!” Beth said, forcefully opening the bathroom door. She was excited that she’d get to learn more about some version of her father, something that she was never able to do in her own dimension.

Rick nodded at her, motioning for her to follow him. She followed him closely to an elevator against the back wall. They stepped in and Rick pressed the up button. Beth was so ready to start learning about her father, maybe there is some similar background knowledge that she could keep tucked away. 

They rode up the elevator in silence. Rick had a small smile on his face, watching Beth’s face get slightly more excited as the numbers rose. He wanted nothing more than to keep her as happy as his Beth. It was hard to see any version of his daughter so walled off and broken. 

When the elevator finally came to a stop Beth nearly fell over trying to stop herself from running out. Rick stifled a laugh, amused by her pure excitement.

“Ready?” He asked, trying to keep his tone neutral.

“Yes!” Beth said in a strangled voice, trying to seem neutral as well.

Rick laughed, walking out of the elevator. Beth was once again on his heels. She followed him up the stairs and through a door into a room that Beth was not expecting.

“Is this a gift shop?” Beth asked, looking around at the souvenirs lining the wall and out on tables in the middle of the room. 

“Yes, my husband owns a tourist trap. The hours are different during the school year than over the summer.” Rick said, explaining away the emptiness.

“Isn’t that a little weird?” Beth asked.

“Eh, it’s fine. He makes a good profit. So with what I sell, we’re actually pretty well off.” Rick shrugged.

“Really?” 

“Yep, we needed money to raise you and since we’ve got custody of Stan’s great niece and nephew it’s helpful now too.” Rick said, walking through a beaded curtain into a living room.

“You’re raising more kids?” Beth said in shock, following the alternate version of her father into the living room. 

She stopped short in the doorway. She didn’t know what she was expecting but it wasn’t these children. Three unfamiliar teenagers sat against the wall, chatting about something on a laptop they were hunched over. While a little girl sat in one of the two old armchairs in front of a TV set, highly engaged in whatever was on the screen. The alternate version of her father was walking over to the little girl.

Rick started asking the girl about what she was watching, allowing Beth to get look at this little girl. She was so tiny Beth couldn’t imagine her being much older than three, but she seemed much more articulate than a three-year-old. Her hair was pulled up into tiny blonde pigtails tied off with bright pink bows that matched her pink and yellow-checkered dress. The little girl looked so familiar and yet so foreign to Beth.

“Come over here.” Rick motioned to Beth. “Meet my family.”

The teenagers turned to look at her. Their eyes followed her as she walked over to Rick and the little girl. “Hi,” Beth said uncertainly, bending down to make herself eye level with the girl. “I’m Beth.”

“You look like Mommy.” The little girl said, reaching out to touch Beth’s face.

Beth suddenly realized why the little girl looked so familiar; she looked like her when she was young. Her eyes were even the same baby blue.

“Summer we talked about this. Don’t touch people’s faces without asking first.” The white haired teenager said, standing up and going toward the little girl. 

The little girl lifted her arms as if asking to be picked up. The boy complied, picking her up and holding her to his chest. “But she does, Giddy. Look.” 

“I know she looks like Mom but she’s a different person. You know how sometimes there are other Grandpas?” The little girl nodded. “This is just like that. She’s another version of our mom from another place with other kids. They might not even be us.” 

Summer started to pout. “I’m Mommy’s kid!” 

The boy laughed. “Yes, you are. But this isn’t Mommy this is Beth.” The white haired boy extended the hand not holding his sister out to Beth. “Hello, I’m Gideon Gleeful, son of Bud and Beth Gleeful. And this little munchkin is Summer Gleeful.” Summer tucks her head into Gideon’s neck, deciding now she wanted to be shy.

Beth reached out, shaking hands with her alternate self's son. She took the moment to look over these children. Summer was so small in her older brother’s arms, which wasn’t saying much as the boy was fairly tall and slightly heavy with a great deal of arm strength. His white hair was shaggy but it framed his rounded face nicely, highlighting the same baby blue eyes as his sister. Beth noticed that he was also better dressed than her son ever was, wearing a clean pair of jeans and a pale blue button up shirt.

“How old are you?” Beth asked, trying to gauge the age difference between Morty and this boy.

“Thirteen,” Gideon said. “Why?”

Beth smiled. “And you’re my eldest?”

“Yeah?” Gideon looked behind him at the other two teens who were watching as well. They shrugged as if to say ‘you know the drill.’

“You’re younger than my youngest.” Beth said with a relieved laugh.

“Right, you were a teenage mom.” Gideon said, trying to remain respectful.

Beth ignored the comment, focusing her attention back to Summer. “And how old are you Summer?”

The little girl peeked out from her brother’s neck, quickly turning her face back with a little giggle. 

“You gonna tell Beth how old you are?” Gideon coaxed gently. Summer shook her head, giggling again. “Oh no,” Gideon said, picking up one of his hands. “Does the tickle monster need to come help?” Summer’s giggling picked up as her brother gently tickled her sides.

“Go ‘way monster!” Summer shrieked with laughter.

“Are you still too shy?” Gideon asked, stopping the tickling.

Summer shook her. “I’m this many.” She held up one hand, all her fingers extended.

“She’s five?” Beth asked, looking skeptically at the tiny little girl. 

“She’s just small for her age.” Gideon said, putting Summer down.

Beth was speechless, a million questions running through her mind. She turned back to ask Rick, only to realize that he must have slipped out at some point. 

“Do you want to meet us to?” One of the other two teenagers asked from behind her. 

Beth turned around and looked at the pair, staring at her. They looked very similar to one another. If they weren’t clearly different genders they’d likely be identical. Their hair was the same color and similar in length, cropped closely by their ears. They also had the same brown eyes and they were almost the same height. 

The girl stepped forward first. Her brightly colored, pink sweater with purple polka dots caught Beth’s attention first, her attention quickly switching to the girl’s bright green leggings. “Hi, I’m Mabel Pines. Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Rick’s great niece.” She said, reaching out her hand.

“Grunkle?” Beth asked, shaking Mabel’s hand, now noticing the purple butterfly barrette in her hair and the matching earrings. Beth realized Mabel must be a little eccentric.

“Great uncle, it’s just shorter.” The boy said, stepping forward far more subdued than Mabel. “Mason Pines, everyone calls me Dipper though. I’m Mabel’s brother.” He stuck his hand out.

Beth shook his hand, taking the moment to look at Dipper in contrast to Mabel. What caught her attention first was the birthmark on his forehead and the stubble forming on his chin. She unsurprised to see he was also dressed better than her son and he was dressed fairly casually in a pair of clean jeans and plaid shirt unbuttoned over a white t-shirt.

“Are you two twins?” Beth asked, looking between Mabel and Dipper.

“Yep, but I’m older.” Mabel said, throwing an arm around her brother’s shoulder.

“And how old are you?” Beth asked, trying to figure out where the pair fell between her children.

“We turned sixteen at the end of August.” Dipper said. 

“So we’ve only been sixteen about a month now.” Mabel added.

“You two are your Beth’s niece and nephew?” Beth asked.

“In a literal sense no, but we call her Aunt Beth.” Dipper said, slipping out from under his sister’s arm. “I mean we’ve spent so much time around her since we moved to Gravity Falls to live with our Grunkles.”

“Why do you live with them? If that’s not too personal.” Beth backtracked, realizing she may have asked something inappropriate.

“It’s not an inappropriate question. We understand that you’re curious.” Dipper reassured her. “Our Mom and Dad sent us here so they could go on a ski trip the winter after our thirteenth birthday. It was meant to be a couple’s weekend, but it got cut short when our Dad lost control of the car because of the snow. They crashed and neither survived. We were told that one of our relatives would need to take us in. But our Mom’s parents didn’t want to “start over” raising us and our Dad’s mother has Alzheimer’s, which meant that our grandfather was too busy caring for her to take on the raising of two teenagers.”

“That’s when Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Rick stepped.” Mable continued the story. “They said that they would be our guardians and everyone agreed that was for the best. So we’ve been here for three years now.”

Beth nodded as the twins fell silent, an awkwardness starting to fill the air. Beth wracked her brain for anything to break the tension. She turned back to Gideon and Summer. “So where are your parents? At work?” She asked.

“No, actually they’re on a cruise right now. It’s when they can get the best deals on tickets. They left us with our grandfathers so Summer and I could still get to school.” Gideon shrugged. “Our grandparents don’t mind having us here. I mean what're four more kids, right?”

“Wait, four?” Beth asked, catching the word.

“Yeah. Summer, Morty, Mori and I.” Gideon said.

“There’s a Morty too? And who’s Mori?” Beth asked in shock.

Gideon paused, looking at his cousins and rolling his eyes. “I know it’s not going to be what you’re used to but Morty is much younger here. I’m talking still in toddlerhood. And Mori is his twin sister. They’re near inseparable.” 

“Unlike us.” Mabel said, motioning between herself and Dipper. 

Beth paused, unsure of what to say. She had no idea what to say. Morty was a twin. The toddler thing she could handle but she never expected him to be a twin. “Wow.” Beth managed to say. 

“Why don’t we introduce you?” Mabel said, picking Summer up and placing her on her hip.

Beth nodded.

“Morty’s are always surprised to see themselves so young and to meet their twin.” Dipper said with a smirk. “They’re always commenting on little Summer too.” He patted the little girl’s hair, causing her to swat at his hands and make an adorable pout face.

“Why don’t we go see them now?” Gideon said, motioning toward the doorway.

“I’d like that. I’d like to meet them.” Beth said, a small smile appearing on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first of the new chapters.

“Follow us, we’ll take you to the little ones.” Gideon said, motioning for Beth to follow him. “They should be taking their afternoon naps right now, but we can peek in on them.”

Gideon started walking out of the living room and down the hallway followed by Mabel and Dipper. Beth didn’t follow right away, watching the teens jostling one another and make funny faces at Summer who was still on Mabel’s hip. It was something so foreign to her. She shook away her negative thoughts, following the teens down the short hallway.

Beth paused to look at the pictures lining the walls. There were pictures of her at various ages, as well as pictures of the children at various ages. Beth wanted to ask questions but the teens had already stepped into another room. She took one last look at the pictures on the wall before following them into the room.

Beth walked into what looked like a makeshift nursery. Against one wall were two cribs and against the opposite wall was a bed with a child guardrail. Sitting on the floor were the nearly identical twin two-year-olds, playing with blocks.

“And how did you two get out of your cribs?” Gideon asked, bending down to the twins level.

“Climb!” One of the twins yelled.

“Fall!” The other twin added.

“You climbed and you fell?” Gideon asked. The twins nodded enthusiastically. “Of course you did. Did you get hurt?” The twins shook their heads. “Good because there’s someone I’d like to introduce you too.” Gideon stepped out of the way giving the twins and Beth a better look at each other.

“Mommy!” Called the twin in blue, whom Beth assumed must be Morty.

“Not Mommy, Morty. This is Beth. She looks like mommy but she’s more like her twin.” Gideon said, trying to find a way the twins would be able to understand it.

“Twins!” The little one in pink shrieked with excitement.

“That’s right Mori,” Dipper said, bending down to pick the little girl up. “Just like you and Morty, and me and Mabel.” Mori clapped her hands.

Morty made grabby hands at Mabel. “Once second little dude.” She said, putting Summer down before picking him up. “You don’t like when your sister’s being held and you’re not, huh?” Morty pouted but hugged Mabel’s neck.

“So, Mori and Morty this is Beth. Beth this is Morgana and Mortimer, the twins.” Gideon said, motioning between Beth and the twins.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Beth said, smiling at the toddlers as they tucked their faces into the older twins’ necks.

“They’s shy.” Summer said.

“They’re shy.” Gideon corrected.

“I said that!” Summer said with an indignant pout.

“They’re still a little tired too.” Dipper said as Mori yawned against him.

“They should still be napping.” Mabel said. 

The little twins giggled, their giggles turning to yawns against the older twins’ necks.

“We’ll put them back down.” Dipper said to Gideon. “Why don’t you show her around?”

Gideon nodded, taking Summer’s hand and motioning for Beth to follow him. She followed him out of the room, looking back at the twins on last time. 

“They look nearly identical.” Beth said, as she stepped back into the hallway.

“They’re semi-identical twins.” Gideon said with a shrug. “It means that two s-p-e-r-m fertilized the same egg.”

“What fertilized the egg Giddy?” Summer asked.

“A word I don’t want mom finding out I taught you.” Gideon said, swinging Summer up onto his hip.

Beth watched the exchange between the brother and sister, trying to understand what she’d just been told. “So you’re telling me that they both came from the same egg?” 

“Exactly but it split and was fertilized by two… well you know.” Gideon trailed off, looking between Summer and Beth.

“And that happens?” Beth asked.

“Apparently more often than most people would think. At least in this family it does. I mean Morty and Mori are semi-identical and so are Dipper and Mabel. We found out about both the same week.” Gideon said. “After Mabel found out semi-identical twins were a thing she wanted to be tested, especially since people always comment on how similar she and Dipper look.”

“That makes sense.” Beth said. “I guess.”

With nothing left to say an awkward silence fell over the trio. Even Summer didn’t seem to have anything to add. The silence was broken by the slamming of a door near the living room.

“I can’t believe this is happening again!” An unfamiliar voice yelled. 

Beth turned around to see a short, stout old man walking into the living room. He was on the phone and seemed quite annoyed. Rick came in the door that had just slammed, placing a comforting hand on the other man’s shoulder.

“What do you need, Stan?” Rick asked quietly.

Stan covered the phone with his hand. “Probably an overnight bag. You know clothes, a toothbrush, meds, all that shit.”

Rick nodded and turned down the hallway that Beth and the children were standing in. 

“Something wrong Grandpa Rick?” Gideon asked as his grandfather walked by.

“It’s Ford again. He attacked a nurse this time.” Rick said as Stan stepped into the living room and out of sight. “Why don’t you go in with the twins for right now. I’ve got to get your other grandfather on the road soon and I don’t think Summer needs to see him this worked up.”

“Of course.” Gideon said, walking back into the nursery with Summer.

“Beth you’re welcome to stay out here or to go into the nursery with the kids for now. But I can’t really explain much right now. Once Stan’s left I explain but I’ve got to help him for now.” Rick said, nodding at his daughter before continuing down the hallway.

Beth didn’t even think about it, stepping back into the nursery and closing the door. Dipper and Mabel were looking at each other, as if they were silently communicating. Gideon was sitting on the bed watching his twin siblings sleep, while Summer looked at a small bookshelf, picking out a book.

Seeing it as the lesser of two evils, Beth walked over to Morty and Dipper. She watched as Summer chose a book and asked Gideon to read to her. She waited until Gideon had started the story, tucking Summer into his side closest to the wall, to ask, “Who is Ford?”

“That’s Grunkle Stan’s twin.” Mabel answered.

“He lives in a psychiatric hospital.” Dipper added.

“Why?” Beth asked.

“We don’t really know. Our grunkles and Mr. McGucket are really the only ones who know what happened.” Mabel said.

“We just know that he went crazy one day. He said something was controlling him. That’s really all we know.” Dipper whispered.

Beth sat in silence with the older twins, listening to the hushed reading of her alternate self’s older son and the breathing her twins. She had never had much in the way of extended family but this Beth appeared to have some, maybe it wasn’t worth it. Beth wanted answers to all of her questions but she would have to wait patiently. She just didn’t know if she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapter's a little short and there's not really a whole ton of new information. The next chapter will explain more when Rick and Beth sit down and have a long talk.
> 
> Next chapter will be posted Tuesday 4/18. Update on my Tumblr 4/4.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait guys. Enjoy the chapter.

After almost an hour Beth’s patience was wearing thin. Gideon and Summer had fallen asleep on Summer’s bed about a half hour ago. Morty and Mori were splayed out in their cribs, still sleeping soundly. Dipper and Mabel were enthralled in something on Mabel’s smartphone.

Before Beth could complain the door to the nursery pushed open gently. Rick poked his head inside, taking a quick look around. He paused on Beth, nodding at her to follow him. She stood up quietly and walked out of the room. Dipper and Mabel followed her out.

“Sorry, that took so long,” Rick said. “We had to figure a few things out with the case manager before Stan left.”

“Did he get kicked out?” Dipper asked.

“No, they just moved him back into the isolation ward.” Rick shook his head, sitting at the table in the living room. “He’s probably going to spend the rest of his life in the isolation ward.”

“That sucks,” Mabel said, sitting next to Rick.

“What does that mean for Ford longterm?” Dipper asked as he and Beth took the other two seats at the table.

“The case manager said she’d explain it more when Stan got there. They need to go over some of the options.” Rick shrugged.

“Why is he in there?” Beth asked, curiosity finally getting the best of her.

Rick looked at her and then at the twins. “Do we need to leave?” Mabel asked.

“No, I think you’re finally old enough to hear this.” Rick said, sighing heavily. “It started before Stan and I came here.”

“What do you mean? I thought you said something was controlling him.” Dipper said.

“It was. His name was Bill and he was some inter-dimensional demon who was controlling Ford through his thoughts.”

“Which drove him crazy!” Mabel said, slamming her hands on the table.

“Kind of, yes,” Rick said. “Ford wrote Stan to come see him. So we came together with our Beth, she was just a baby at the time. Ford had only wanted Stan because he realized that Bill was evil. It had only taken a year for him to realize.” Rick rolled his eyes. “When we got here, and he explained what was happening, I made Stan destroy Ford’s dimensional portal. That pissed off Bill and he came out. But I had time to create a quick antimatter gun. So when he popped up I shot him. That was the last we ever saw of him but it didn’t help Ford.”

“How so?” Dipper asked.

“Well, Bill did a number on Ford’s brain. He felt that Bill could never die, which Stan and I know is untrue. It really came to a head on my Beth’s second birthday.”

“Is that why there are no pictures of that party?” Mabel asked. “I always wondered why I couldn’t make a second birthday page in Aunt Beth’s birthday scrapbook.”

“Exactly. Ford became convinced that Bill hadn’t died that night but had instead taken over my Beth’s body. He tried to kill her. Stan stopped him and he got arrested. We didn’t press charges but he was deemed a danger to society and we had to find a psychiatric facility for him.”

“Wow, that sounds horrible.” Beth said.

“We didn’t have a whole lot of options.” Rick said with a shrug. “We were the only ones who stepped up to help him.”

“What about their other brothers and sisters?” Dipper asked.

“They were all busy raising families or in Scotty’s case finishing high school.” Rick said.

“How many siblings does Stan have?” Beth asked.

“I’ll get the scrapbooks!” Mabel said, jumping up from the table.

“Grab the wedding one!” Rick yelled after her.

“I was planning to!” She called back.

Rick and Dipper laughed as Mabel raced from the room.

“She has made so many scrapbooks. It’s one of her favorite things to do.” Dipper said with a laugh. “You should see her bedroom.”

Mabel ran into the room, six scrapbooks nearly slipping out of her arms. “I got as many as I could carry.” She dropped a pink and purple one on the table. “This is the scrapbook of mine and Dipper’s first summer here.” She dropped a green one with tiny pink and white flowers next. “That’s Aunt Beth and Uncle Bud’s wedding scrapbook.” She placed a blue book with white butterflies down next. “That’s the Aunt Beth’s birthday scrapbook.” Mabel handed Dipper the orange and yellow-striped scrapbook next. “That’s important moments in Aunt Beth’s life.” She handed the white, slightly sparkly one to Beth. “That’s Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Rick’s wedding. And this is Aunt Beth’s childhood.” She said, waving a white scrapbook with a teddy bear on the back.

“Wow,” Beth said, cracking open the scrapbook in her hands.

On the first page of the scrapbook was a picture of Rick and his husband Stan, smiling genuinely. Underneath in golden calligraphy was a date, _July 10, 2015_. “They haven’t been actually married for very long.” Mabel said, looking over Beth’s shoulder.

Beth flipped the page to see a picture of Stan and Rick with seven others. “Those are our siblings.” Rick said, shifting closer to Beth. He pointed to the man in the wheelchair in front of Stan, who looked just like Stan. “That’s Ford, Stan’s twin.”

Mabel pointed to the grey-haired man in a bowtie next to Stan. “That’s Dipper and my grandfather, Shermie Pines.”

Rick pointed the older woman leaning on a cane next to Shermie. “That’s the eldest Pines sibling, Seraphina.”

Mabel pointed to the woman with her arm wrapped around Seraphina. “That’s Stephanie.” She pointed to the woman on her other side. “And that’s Sophia.”

Rick pointed to the short woman at his side. “That’s my older sister Pauline. Well, Pauli.”

“You have an older sister!” Beth said in shock.

Before Rick could answer a cry came from the direction of the nursery. “We’ll take care of it.” Mabel said, pulling Dipper out of the room with her.

“Thank you,” Rick said, smiling at them.

After Dipper and Mabel had left the room Beth turned her attention back to the scrapbook. “So is it only your universe that you have a sister?”

“No, it’s more that most Paulis don’t approve of many of the Ricks choices in life. They stop talking to their brothers all together.” Rick said with a shrug.

“So I had an aunt that I never got meet?” Beth asked.

“Entirely possible. But you could have met her when you were very young before your father pissed her off.”

Beth nodded, looking at the scrapbook in her hands. She stroked around the sibling picture, trying to take in all of the information she had been given.

“I understand,” Rick said, patting her hand comfortingly. “You’ve never really known your father the way my Beth has known me. It can be a lot to take in. But remember, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you’d like. I can try to help you understand who your father is.”

“Thank you,” Beth mumbled, still flipping through the scrapbook of this Rick and Stan's wedding.

Rick opened his mouth to say something else but was stopped by a knock at the front door. He stood up from the table as the door opened.

“Rick!” A male voice called from the other room.

“In here Fiddleford.” Rick called out, sitting back down.

“I saw Stan driving off. I wanted to know if you needed anything.” Fiddleford asked walking into the living room. He paused in the doorway when he noticed Beth. “Another dimension hopper?”

“Yep,” Rick nodded.

Fiddleford just shook his head and sat at the table with the pair. “Welcome to XALT-28.” He extended his hand to Beth.

She looked up and shook his hand. Faintly a phone began to ring. “That’s the lab phone,” Rick said, looking up uncertainly. “I better get that.” He stood up leaving Beth staring at the scrapbook in her hands, while Fiddleford examined her like an unsolved math problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will go into more detail on these familial relationships later, but I just wanted to get it out there first. And if anyone's curious about my birth order for the Pines siblings it's:  
> Seraphina "Sera," Sherman "Shermie," Sophia, Stephanie, Stanford "Ford," Stanley "Stan," and Scott "Scotty"
> 
> Next chapter will be out Friday 5/12.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading.
> 
> For updates, you can check my Tumblr: sapphire-tornado.tumblr.com.


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